Next week, London’s Olympia will host a gathering of approximately 4,000 individuals—including politicians, academics, entrepreneurs, campaigners, artists, and journalists—from 90 countries. The event, organised by the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc), aims to address what organisers describe as a deepening crisis of confidence and cultural identity in Western societies. Key speakers include former Australian prime ministers Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott, alongside British figures such as Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, and Kemi Badenoch.
Arc, a network established in 2023, positions itself as an alternative to what it calls the prevailing cultural pessimism in Western countries, particularly those in the Anglosphere. The alliance is critical of current trends including technocratic governance, net-zero policies, progressive identity politics, and the perceived erosion of civil liberties. Central to the group’s leadership are Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, Baroness Philippa Stroud, and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, who is the alliance’s principal financial backer. The organisation also benefits from the input of around 40 advisory board members, among them Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Douglas Murray, and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Baroness Philippa Stroud, who serves as Arc’s executive chairman, has played a significant yet largely low-profile role within British conservatism for over two decades. A former adviser to Sir Iain Duncan Smith and co-founder of the Centre for Social Justice, Stroud has worked extensively at the intersection of politics and policy. Speaking from Arc’s London headquarters, she emphasised the alliance’s mission to shift Western discourse away from a focus on decline towards a more hopeful narrative rooted in the historical and cultural foundations of Western civilisation.
Stroud argued that the challenges facing Western societies are fundamentally cultural, not solely political. She described the current situation as a gradual “unravelling” of connections to the traditions that have shaped legal, democratic, scientific, and moral frameworks, warning of a “cut-flower civilisation” attempting to preserve its heritage after severing ties with its roots. The alliance views this detachment as contributing to widespread social malaise, including falling birth rates, increasing mental health issues among younger generations, and a pervasive sense of uncertainty about the future.
Acknowledging the role her own Conservative Party played in this process, particularly regarding pandemic restrictions and the slow response to cultural shifts, Stroud stressed that traditional political platforms have struggled to address voters’ concerns around identity, immigration, and sovereignty. She credited figures like Nigel Farage for foregrounding these issues, though she questioned the ability of newer right-wing forces such as Restore to deliver sustainable solutions. Stroud positioned Arc as distinct from the extreme right, describing it instead as a corrective endeavor that aims to renew political principles before less “savoury characters” fill the void.
Faith and family remain central themes in Arc’s work and Stroud’s worldview. A committed Christian, she emphasized Christianity’s historical role in shaping Western civilisation and its continuing importance in promoting moral renewal and social cohesion. While recognising Britain’s increasingly secular landscape, Stroud called for more open conversations about faith in public life and expressed concern about the potential misuse of religious language by extremist groups.
On demographic challenges, she highlighted the complexities behind declining birth rates, noting that financial incentives alone have not reversed the trend. She called for policies that create conditions enabling people to have children by addressing barriers such as housing and work-life balance, while insisting on respecting personal choice and women’s progress.
In her additional role as chair of the Low Pay Commission, Stroud remains engaged in practical policy work, advising ministers on minimum wage levels. Despite Arc’s critique of technocracy, she defended the commission’s evidence-based approach and reiterated the importance of work in providing not just income but social purpose and belonging.
Overall, Arc’s forthcoming conference at Olympia reflects an expansive effort to reimagine Western civilisation’s future by reaffirming cultural heritage, social responsibility, and renewed political engagement amid mounting uncertainty and societal change.